18. Oh, What Hard Luck Stories They All Hand Me

Complete story — includes the ending

Preparations are being made for Alison's trial, and the girls are anxious to know what the verdict will be. They continue to grapple with the sudden disillusionment of their friendship. Jonny is creating an art installation for The Brew. Spencer is fascinated by Jonny and his work. She spends time with him, much to the disapproval of her mother, who believes Jonny's influence is causing Spencer to abandon her plans for the future. Talia continues to flirt with Emily, who mulls over her feelings before deciding to reciprocate. The two share a kiss. A girl named Lesli introduces herself as one of Mona's close friends. She is staying in the Vanderwaal house and providing emotional support to Mona's mother. Hanna spends some time with Lesli to get a better read on her. When the two run into Mike Montgomery at The Brew, he sees that Lesli took a book from Mona's room. He is furious, shouting at Hanna and Lesli before storming away. Lesli reveals that she spoke with Mona over the phone the day before she died. She remembers Mike interrupting the call, demanding to talk to Mona, and sounding very angry. Veronica is consulting Alison's defense team in exchange for insider information. Spencer snoops in her mother's work bag and sees Mike's name on the jail's visitor log. Aria wants to confront Mike about his recent behavior, but fears hurting her already-grieving brother. She secretly follows him when he leaves the house late at night. Mike drives to a lake and leaves a bag of gumdrops on the pier. He catches Aria spying and is angry with her now, too. Hanna discovers a secret compartment in the binding of Mona's book. Inside is one of Bethany's Radley tapes. She and Caleb listen to the recording, in which Bethany describes an unnamed female character as manipulative and violent. On her way home, Detective Holbrook pulls Hanna over. He blames Alison for his recent suspension from the police department. Hanna confronts Holbrook about doing Alison's dirty work, and he denies his involvement in any recent 'A' activity. The girls need to look elsewhere for 'A's henchman, and Mike has been drawing a lot of their suspicion. ' A' ending: 'A' is frustrated to find that Bethany's Radley tape is missing from the compartment in Mona's book.